Martin Luther King...you were a man for all reasons!

Today is Martin Luther King Day. 

I'm white,  grew up in the North, was not raised in a racist home, and was appalled by the riots that took place during the Civil Rights movement.  In grammar school, I remember when Rosa Parks rode the bus, and did not understand what all the hoopla was about.  I was mortified when I heard about the "kids" that were killed trying to bring segregation to the South.  I couldn't believe they wouldn't let "negro" kids go to "white" school in Alabama.  By this time I was not quite a teenager.

One spring break from college, I went to New Orleans.  On the way down I stopped at a small tavern, and saw an out house behind the bar, that said "blacks only" on it.  By this time it was the late 60s...I couldn't believe that racism still existed.

It's now 2010, and we have improved somewhat, but never to the level that Dr. King would have preferred.  And that's a damn shame!

If you get a chance, read his speech "I have a dream."  I heard it once, on the radio, and I'm ashamed to say I've never read it myself.  I just remember thinking that what I was hearing was most profound.   Today there are many excerpts on TV shows, with various parts from that speech, and other wonderful quotes credited to him. 

 Do yourself a favor and find a copy and read it, and see if you can relate to his ideas of living in harmony...on this Day 76!